Michael Hibbard

All about the books I write, along with random thoughts, and babbling.

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Bullies are Untamed Animals

Doc Holliday: A man like Ringo has got a great big hole, right in the middle of himself. And he can never kill enough, or steal enough, or inflict enough pain to ever fill it.
Wyatt Earp: What does he want?
Doc Holliday: Revenge.
Wyatt Earp: For what?
Doc Holliday: Bein’ born.

I was on Facebook yesterday, as much as I hate that platform, and I noticed that someone had posted a link to this video. First, I’m going to predicate all this by saying that I am not sure if it is a real or fake video, but I am posting it here because the message is a very real one, and it punctuates a growing problem in the world.

Now, before I was an awesome blogger, I too was a geeky, skinny kid in high school. Yes I know its hard to imagine 😉 But I myself endured my own encounters with bullies, beginning when I was in the 6th grade. It’s a horrible thing, but I survived, though I can’t help but wonder how my life would have been different today. I am an introvert and very wary of people in the real world. It took me many years after high school to realize that the bullying was done, and that I wouldn’t have to deal with it anymore. Some people will say its a natural progression through adolescence, necessary to make the weak stronger. But it doesn’t make anyone stronger, it breeds apathy and hatred. It pushes us apart from one another.

I wish I had a short answer as to how to stop bullying, once and for all. It is merely a residual instinct left from the time when we as a herd needed to weed out the weaker individuals. The way animals do. But have we not evolved beyond simple, instinct driven animals? It appears we have not. So many kids each year endure what Jonah, in the video below, have endured. Some do not have the apparent resolve that Jonah has demonstrated, the willingness to endure and be a better person as a result. Many kids kill themselves, turn to drugs, cut themselves or turn into bullies themselves. We as adults must address this.

I’m not willing in giving anyone a free ride on this one. Bullying begins at home. If a child is a bully, the accountability falls squarely on the shoulders of the parent/parents. It is not the responsibility of the society to raise your child — it is your responsibility. I can say this because all of the bullies I have encountered throughout my life had horrible home lives. Many of them were being raise by parents who were themselves bullies. We must stop making excuses and start taking action. If you’re child is a bully, the bullying isn’t the largest problem — the child is missing something and they are missing something because you have not given it to them. It is the parents responsibility to fix the problem. It is our responsibility to ensure that the parent is held accountable for lack of parental guidance.